Prior to the present invention, there existed in nearly ever metropolitan area an ever increasing problem of refuse removal and disposal. So great a problem is this, that minicipal, county and state governments are enacting into law mandatory separation of materials such as glass, aluminum, tin, plastics and paper apart from the normal waste stream. Failure to comply with these ordinances or laws can subject an individual or business to stiff fines and penalties.
As during the years of the World Wars, Americans are being instructed to recycle virtually everything that in the past was merely put out to waste. State governments are passing on to local municipalities the responsibility and power to establish customized recycling programs for their individual communities.
The inevitable goal for each of these communities is to collect as many separated materials as possible and sell them to processing manufacturers for the best price available. This insures a successful and profitable recycling program for each individual municipality. To acquire premium dollar value, all of the recycled materials must be completely separated item by item before they are delivered to the processing facitily(ies). To accomplish this, the communities are in turn passing the bulk of the separating responsibility onto the individual households and businesses who create the waste.
Hence, this puts the complete burden on the consumer to collect and separate as many as eight different materials within the confines of the home and/or office. Thus, there exists an incredible perplexing problem for the average American consumer, who, while habitually wastefull by nature, must conform to this radical change in lifestyle as swiftly and conveniently as possible.
As a typical part of the problems faced in both the home and the office environment, it is not aesthetically pleasing to have various bins or open boxes or cans spread throughout the home or facility, apart from the problem of space. Yet, it is certainly unpleasant and not practical to mix above-noted articles such as glass and/or plastic bottles and/or metal cans together with common garbage and thereafter be faced with the unpleasant task of sifting through the mess to segregate the items into separate containers. Thereafter or concurrently there is the additional problem of how large or small the containers can practically be and how they are to be transported when filled, and likewise, where multiple containers are required periodically, where and how are the empties stored in as little space as possible?
Also, there is the problem of accessory elements or parts, and potential loss of one or more of them, if a combination involves an integral combination. Also, for a combination of multiple vessels, accessibility of openings of the vessels is clearly a major consideration, non-accessible or small or awkwardly placed opening adding to the problems of conveniency of placing items into the several different vessels, as well as the consideration of whether such combinations would constitute an eye-sore, distasteful in appearance.
While efforts have been made to approach and solve some of these problems and difficulties, heretofore nothing satisfactory has been available.
Particularly for collection and segregation on a continuing use of a collecting device typically in the small kitchen or closet or cabinet of a kitchen-counter, as well as transportability of the filled units, raises still more serious problems and limitations to be overcome for the home. Clearly, such collection device(s) or unit(s) must be compact and small in size to have any practical value or use.